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September 17, 2008

They’re Mini, They’re Mighty and They’re Built for Math!

by Sam Savage

NEW YORK, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Nick Jr. has commenced production on the new original series, Team Umizoomi, which combines 2D and 3D animation with live action to create a uniquely patterned urban environment where miniature action heroes help real preschoolers solve everyday problems by using math. The 20-episode interactive series is created by a team of Blue's Clues veterans: Jennifer Twomey (Co-Creator/Executive Producer), Soo Kim (Co-Creator/Producer/Design Director/Writer) and Michael T. Smith (Co-Creator/Producer/Writer). Team Umizoomi (formerly called The Umizumiz) is set to premiere on Nick Jr. in 2009.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080917/NY33530 )

In the heart of Umi City, a team of miniature animated math-powered action heroes await their next mighty mission. When the Umi alarm sounds, siblings Milli and Geo and their robot best friend, Bot, help live-action preschoolers in a pinch. Team Umizoomi needs their Umifriends (home viewers) to use their math powers to help solve everyday problems and keep Umi City running smoothly.

Each episode explores math in a variety of real life contexts, while set to a catchy soundtrack of preschool pop rock that helps the team along the way. In Umi City math is everywhere. By making math the key to solving preschool relatable problems, the show will develop and enhance kids' interest in, excitement for and enjoyment of math. The series is designed to build upon preschoolers' conceptual understanding of math as they are exposed to core mathematical concepts like numbers, counting, computations, measurement, patterns and shapes.

Jennifer Twomey, co-creator and executive producer of Team Umizoomi, started working with Nickelodeon in 1996 on the landmark interactive series Blue's Clues. Twomey was an executive producer and writer for the Peabody Award-winning, Emmy-nominated series and co-developed the puppet-based spin-off, Blue's Room, while serving as executive producer and writer for the latter as well. In 2004, Twomey was executive in charge of development and production for Nickelodeon Preschool Television, overseeing current series on both Nick Jr. and NOGGIN and developing new content for the channels.

Soo Kim, co-creator, producer, design director and writer for Team Umizoomi, joined the Nickelodeon family in 1995 when she jumped aboard the design team at the start of the first season of Nick Jr.'s groundbreaking Blue's Clues. Her love of the simple preschool aesthetic and the challenge of the digital medium propelled her into the role of Digital Design Director. She played an integral role in the evolution of the production process and developing the signature visual style of the well-loved series. Prior to joining Nickelodeon, Soo was on the production team at MTV Animation, working on a range of development projects and animated pilots as well as contributing to the web design for MTV.com.

Co-creator Michael T. Smith, who also produces and writes for Team Umizoomi, first joined Nickelodeon in 1995. While working for Blue's Clues, Michael developed content, wrote scripts including Blue's Big Musical Show (co-written with Angela Santomero) which garnered a Young Artist Award in the category of Best Animated Family Feature Film. Michael has also been nominated for three Daytime Emmy awards in the category of Outstanding Writing for a Children's Program.

Nick Jr. is a specially designed programming block airing on Nickelodeon weekdays from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Completely dedicated to preschoolers ages 2-5, Nick Jr.'s Emmy, Peabody and Parents' Choice Award-winning programs are curriculum based, fun and commercial free. At Nick Jr., kids play to learn with innovative, original shows created just for them.

Nickelodeon, now in its 29th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 96 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 14 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. .